Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-10-13
BOYS AND FIREARMS.
4 Tragedy Which Should Teach Parents
LOng-Needcd Lesson.

4 Tragedy Which Should Teach ParenO
Long-Neeacd Lesson.
The recent shooting Of n boy ut May"
wood by another child was accidental.
The coroner's jury SO declared. and
probably the circumstances justified
the conclusion. So trivial an incident.
may seem to be scarcely worth even a
word OF passing comment. Accidental
deaths from the careless handling of
firearms are common occurrences
even more common in these days than
the self-extermination OF persons who.
klndle fire with Kerosene. The only
feature of the accidental murder in
question that will strike anybody as
exceptional is the extreme youth OF,
the parties in the affair. The victim
was ten years old; the possessor of the.
fatal weapon perhaps tri fie Older.
Men who Were boys y quarter of a
century or more ago may wonder how
or why the small boy who put his COM
panion to death Sc suddenly
happened to be armed with
the means of determination; and
these fogies would probably be much
amazed if assured that pistols have
come to be almost rs much part of
the small boys usual equipment as
cigarettes. marbles. tops or jack
knives. Yet many persons pretending
to be well-informed might be found
ready to testify that this surprising as
surance is true.
1t is to be wished that the arms-bcar-
ing habit of the small boy-which
came i'll with the cheap romance of
wild western adventure and Indian en-
termination, of Jibbenano says and
Misunderstanding and Boy Scouts
might be reformed altogether. II is.
true that there are still Indians who.
ought to be killed. and that the rcgu--
lar forces of the United States are not
killing them as expeditious!y rs might
be desired; but it is also true
that the undesirable aboriginal
population Of the West has not been
appreciably reduced by the well-meant
though ill-directed efforts of the infan-
tile avengers and youthful rangers.
whose most sensational achievements
usually are the shooting of each other.
If proud parents who have exultingly
watched the young idea of their off,
spring teach itself how to shoot could
be prevailed upon to consider the mat
ter in the light of practical results.
they might persuade themselves that
the small boy who goes about with Il.
revolver in his pocket has ten chances
of achieving notoriety in the peniten-
tiary or on the gallows for one of
reaching the pinnacle of fame upon
which, among the crowned heads of
Europe. Mr.. VIM Cody sits enthroned.
In all seriousness. the father who
knowingly permits his boy to own and
carry a pistol is guilty f grave crime
against society. The father who il,
ignorant of the fact that his boy carries
q murderous weapon is in most in
stances criminally negligent of his i'm
perative duty to know the habits OF his
child. The shop-keeper who sells fire.
arms to small boys for the sake of tho
beggarly profit to be made upon such
transactions. ought to be taken ont, set
up at ten PAGES, and made target for
all the hood!ums owning pistols within
n mile of him. And one thing More:
The law should hold the person who.
by the playful or careless use of fire.
arms. causes the death of another
gully of manslaughter. and send him
to prison for life. Idiots of tha. sort
are too dangerous to be allowed to run
ut large. Chicago Times.